Sunday, February 26, 2012

Death by Zombie

I have decided to name my zombie rpg game "Quarantine Zone" instead of the previous title GTZ. A quick google search did not bring anything else up that is already using Quarantine Zone so I'm using it. What do you think- good,bad or ugly?

I have made up a few cards to keep track of "conditions" during play. Conditions are temporary effects characters might get, which often stack. Conditions are generally harmful effects which will increase the DC of certain ability checks, I have four currently and might add some more in the future.


Front
                                                                                 
Back
These condition cards are just cue cards which have been cut in half. I made four cards for each condition, hopefully I won't need more than four at any one time.

Condition Descriptions:
Shook: +2 DC on all Nerve checks.
A character will usually become shook after seeing something truly horrific and then failing a Nerve check to keep their cool.  A character will remain shook until they are able to regain their composure in safety away from the cause of their fear.

Tired: +1DC on all checks.
A character will become tired if they over exert themselves mentally or physically. The tired condition effects every check the character makes and will thus lower their overall performance dramatically. Once a character is able to get sufficient rest they will no longer be tired.

Knock:  +1DC on all checks until the end of your next turn.
The knock condition represents a character being momentarily staggered and off-balance. This effect is usually the result of combat dmg roll. The knock condition can also apply to zombies, unlike most other conditions. A zombie who gets knocked is forced to release a grabbed character.

Bloodied: +2DC on all checks.
This is a very dangerous effect which represents a character suffering the effects of a significant wound. Any dmg roll which results in a "critical" will cause the bloodied condition, most often from a zombie maul or bite.
Several bloodied results will cause a stacking +2DC on all checks, meaning eventually a character will no longer be able to function effectively if they take enough wounds. A character will stay bloodied until they receive first-aid or possibly more serious medical care.

In Quarantine Zone characters will usually not die in a single turn. Although instant death from gunshots, falls, fire and buildings collapsing are possible, characters are more likely to be torn apart by zombies. Characters will usually get bloodied in a scuffle with zombies and then will be grabbed. A wounded character will not be able to resist zombie rend attempts for very long and will become bloodied again and again until the rend is successful and kills them. Any one of the conditions listed above are very dangerous for a character to suffer from because each will make the chances of  getting another condition much higher. A character who is bloodied, tired, and shook will take +3 DC on Brawn, Reflex,Attitude, Intelligence, and Search checks AND +5DC on all Nerve checks.

Wise characters will take the utmost care to avoid getting any of these conditions so they can remain functional and not become a liability to the group.

-comments and questions are welcome.

3 comments:

  1. How will you determine which condition applies? Roll a d4? Also, I think Quarantine Zone may be a bit long. How about "Quarantined!"

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  2. Well the conditions come up in pretty specific circumstances, so they shouldn't have to be randomized. Actually my girlfriend said the same thing about the name, there is already a movie called "Quarantine" though. I also really want to be able to abbreviate it so I think I'm going to keep it as Quarantine Zone for the time being but thanks for the input.

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  3. That's cool, I guess QZ would be short and sweet.

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